Led

I remember wanting to have kids ever since I was a kid.
 
Okay, maybe not kids, per se, but babies. Cute, squishy, perfect little babies that I could tote around and care for all the day long.
 
Oh, me. 
 
To be honest, I didn’t give much thought to everything that comes after that. You know, the other 17 years.
 
When they threw my wailing and flailing first-born onto my chest, I felt more than the weight of his 8-pound body. I felt the weight of being responsible for another human being’s well-being.
 
Fast-forward a handful of years and that wailing baby is now 9 years old, which puts him exactly halfway to leaving home.
 
WHAT THE WHAT.
And my middle is right behind him.
Now I’m the one flailing.
 
Lately, this is my internal dialogue:
They barely know how to tie their shoes! They still need to learn how to ride their bikes without training wheels. Why are they not in an extracurricular activity? We can’t afford an extracurricular activity!! They need to learn an instrument, a sport, a skill… something! 
 
Recently, a couple of stressful months, paired with this unrelenting dialogue, left me overwhelmed, tired, and somewhat disillusioned by it all.
 
As I packed for a weekend retreat, I was desperate for answers, guidance, and most of all—hope.
 
God met me in that broken place.
He reminded me of his tender care towards me, and my children.
He began to open my eyes to the unique giftings He had placed and purposed within each of them.

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God met me in that broken place.
He reminded me of His tender care towards me,
​and my children.

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My oldest has a natural talent for music and arts.
My middle is a brilliant engineer.
My youngest is a fireball fashion designer-in-the-making.
 
So, I began to pray about how I could nurture those gifts.
 
My oldest and I collaborated to write and illustrate a book (more to come on that).
My youngest and I began drawing together each morning to boost our creativity.
My middle… that’s where I struggled.
 
At lunch with my writing mentor, I was sharing these updates, and whining about my lack of ideas for my middle little.
 
Without missing a beat, she challenged me,
“Ask Holy Spirit. He’ll show you.”
 
Of course. After an incredible weekend of leaning on God's words and wisdom, I had returned back to my own understanding. Again.
 
That night in bed, I surrendered.
Okay God. Show me. But you know we don’t have extra money for anything, okay?
(Honesty is the best policy, right?)
 
Now, I should mention, here, that I believe God interacts with us according to our personalities. I have friends who describe God in sweet, intimate ways and others who hear from Him quite frankly.
 
For me, God likes to show off His sense of humor.
Probably because I’m a sucker for that.
 
The following day my boys arrived home, dumping their backpacks in their usual spot on the kitchen floor. I picked them up and began removing the contents: lunchbox, homework, agenda… and a printed paper which—no lie—said this:
 
STEM ACADEMY
*FREE TO ALL 2ND GRADERS*…
 
You can't make this stuff up.
​I’m pretty sure I snorted.

For those of you not well-versed in modern school lingo, STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
 
BINGO. All of my little guy’s favorites.
 
Now, I could go on about how he abso-freakin-lutely LOVED his first week at class this past Saturday, but I’ll just cut to the chase.
 
Friends, it’s becoming increasingly obvious to me that God didn’t make us parents so we could prove to the world how awesome we are.
​
He made us parents because He trusted that we would  do as Proverbs 22:6 tells us to and, “Train up a child in the way he should go [teaching him to seek God’s wisdom and will for his abilities and talents]…” (Amplified).

​We don’t have to settle for our best. We get to lean into His best.

The truth is, we can be awesome parents, only because He is an awesome God. An awesome God who has given us an incredible promise:
 
“He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.” (Isaiah 40:11)

​It’s time to stop relegating the Holy Spirit to a few corners of our lives, and embrace the power He wants to bring to our parenting.

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It's time to stop relegating the Holy Spirit to a
few corners of our lives, and embrace the power
​He wants to bring to our parenting.

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Where do you feel inadequate right now? In what area are you lacking answers?
 
The Bible tells us that “the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God”, and will reveal them to us. We’re not limited to our wisdom, our tribe’s wisdom, or even our mama’s wisdom—we have access to all wisdom. 

God doesn’t want parenting to be a great mystery-- He wants to reveal secrets to us that will help us lead our children into the incredible destiny He has planned for them.
 
Ask. Seek, Knock. I can’t promise your answer will come as quickly as mine did, but I can promise this: He is faithful.  
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“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.”
​Proverbs 3:5-6